Vectorization for parsing of complexly structured files

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to methods and systems for processing of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) files. More specifically, processing EDI files includes importing an EDI file into an initial data frame table. Each data segment of the EDI file can be imported into a different row of the initial data frame table and the rows and columns of the initial data frame table can comprise an array of fields. Vectorization processing can then be performed on the array of fields in the initial data frame table. A set of one or more target tables can then be populated with data from the imported EDI file based on performing the vectorization processing on the array of fields in the initial data frame table.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to methods andsystems for processing of complexly structured files and moreparticularly to using vectorization to parse Electronic Data Interchange(EDI) files.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating elements of an exemplarycomputing environment in which embodiments of the present disclosure maybe implemented.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating elements of an exemplarycomputing device in which embodiments of the present disclosure may beimplemented.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary environment in whichembodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating additional details of anexemplary records management and processing system in which embodimentsof the present disclosure can be implemented.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating elements of an exemplary parseraccording to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for processingof complexly structured files according to one embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

In the appended figures, similar components and/or features may have thesame reference label. Further, various components of the same type maybe distinguished by following the reference label by a letter thatdistinguishes among the similar components. If only the first referencelabel is used in the specification, the description is applicable to anyone of the similar components having the same first reference labelirrespective of the second reference label.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerousspecific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of various embodiments disclosed herein. It will beapparent, however, to one skilled in the art that various embodiments ofthe present disclosure may be practiced without some of these specificdetails. The ensuing description provides exemplary embodiments only,and is not intended to limit the scope or applicability of thedisclosure. Furthermore, to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the presentdisclosure, the preceding description omits a number of known structuresand devices. This omission is not to be construed as a limitation of thescopes of the claims. Rather, the ensuing description of the exemplaryembodiments will provide those skilled in the art with an enablingdescription for implementing an exemplary embodiment. It should howeverbe appreciated that the present disclosure may be practiced in a varietyof ways beyond the specific detail set forth herein.

While the exemplary aspects, embodiments, and/or configurationsillustrated herein show the various components of the system collocated,certain components of the system can be located remotely, at distantportions of a distributed network, such as a LAN and/or the Internet, orwithin a dedicated system. Thus, it should be appreciated, that thecomponents of the system can be combined in to one or more devices orcollocated on a particular node of a distributed network, such as ananalog and/or digital telecommunications network, a packet-switchnetwork, or a circuit-switched network. It will be appreciated from thefollowing description, and for reasons of computational efficiency, thatthe components of the system can be arranged at any location within adistributed network of components without affecting the operation of thesystem.

Furthermore, it should be appreciated that the various links connectingthe elements can be wired or wireless links, or any combination thereof,or any other known or later developed element(s) that is capable ofsupplying and/or communicating data to and from the connected elements.These wired or wireless links can also be secure links and may becapable of communicating encrypted information. Transmission media usedas links, for example, can be any suitable carrier for electricalsignals, including coaxial cables, copper wire and fiber optics, and maytake the form of acoustic or light waves, such as those generated duringradio-wave and infra-red data communications.

As used herein, the phrases “at least one,” “one or more,” “or,” and“and/or” are open-ended expressions that are both conjunctive anddisjunctive in operation. For example, each of the expressions “at leastone of A, B and C,” “at least one of A, B, or C,” “one or more of A, B,and C,” “one or more of A, B, or C,” “A, B, and/or C,” and “A, B, or C”means A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, Band C together, or A, B and C together.

The term “a” or “an” entity refers to one or more of that entity. Assuch, the terms “a” (or “an”), “one or more” and “at least one” can beused interchangeably herein. It is also to be noted that the terms“comprising,” “including,” and “having” can be used interchangeably.

The term “automatic” and variations thereof, as used herein, refers toany process or operation done without material human input when theprocess or operation is performed. However, a process or operation canbe automatic, even though performance of the process or operation usesmaterial or immaterial human input, if the input is received beforeperformance of the process or operation. Human input is deemed to bematerial if such input influences how the process or operation will beperformed. Human input that consents to the performance of the processor operation is not deemed to be “material.”

The term “computer-readable medium” as used herein refers to anytangible storage and/or transmission medium that participate inproviding instructions to a processor for execution. Such a medium maytake many forms, including but not limited to, non-volatile media,volatile media, and transmission media. Non-volatile media includes, forexample, NVRAM, or magnetic or optical disks. Volatile media includesdynamic memory, such as main memory. Common forms of computer-readablemedia include, for example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk,magnetic tape, or any other magnetic medium, magneto-optical medium, aCD-ROM, any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, any otherphysical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, and EPROM, aFLASH-EPROM, a solid state medium like a memory card, any other memorychip or cartridge, a carrier wave as described hereinafter, or any othermedium from which a computer can read. A digital file attachment toe-mail or other self-contained information archive or set of archives isconsidered a distribution medium equivalent to a tangible storagemedium. When the computer-readable media is configured as a database, itis to be understood that the database may be any type of database, suchas relational, hierarchical, object-oriented, and/or the like.Accordingly, the disclosure is considered to include a tangible storagemedium or distribution medium and prior art-recognized equivalents andsuccessor media, in which the software implementations of the presentdisclosure are stored.

A “computer readable signal” medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to,electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. Acomputer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium thatis not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate,propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device. Program codeembodied on a computer readable medium may be transmitted using anyappropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wireline,optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of theforegoing.

The terms “determine,” “calculate,” and “compute,” and variationsthereof, as used herein, are used interchangeably and include any typeof methodology, process, mathematical operation or technique.

It shall be understood that the term “means” as used herein shall begiven its broadest possible interpretation in accordance with 35 U.S.C.,Section 112, Paragraph 6. Accordingly, a claim incorporating the term“means” shall cover all structures, materials, or acts set forth herein,and all of the equivalents thereof. Further, the structures, materialsor acts and the equivalents thereof shall include all those described inthe summary of the disclosure, brief description of the drawings,detailed description, abstract, and claims themselves.

Aspects of the present disclosure may take the form of an entirelyhardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (includingfirmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodimentcombining software and hardware aspects that may all generally bereferred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.” Any combinationof one or more computer readable medium(s) may be utilized. The computerreadable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computerreadable storage medium.

In yet another embodiment, the systems and methods of this disclosurecan be implemented in conjunction with a special purpose computer, aprogrammed microprocessor or microcontroller and peripheral integratedcircuit element(s), an ASIC or other integrated circuit, a digitalsignal processor, a hard-wired electronic or logic circuit such asdiscrete element circuit, a programmable logic device or gate array suchas PLD, PLA, FPGA, PAL, special purpose computer, any comparable means,or the like. In general, any device(s) or means capable of implementingthe methodology illustrated herein can be used to implement the variousaspects of this disclosure. Exemplary hardware that can be used for thedisclosed embodiments, configurations, and aspects includes computers,handheld devices, telephones (e.g., cellular, Internet enabled, digital,analog, hybrids, and others), and other hardware known in the art. Someof these devices include processors (e.g., a single or multiplemicroprocessors), memory, nonvolatile storage, input devices, and outputdevices. Furthermore, alternative software implementations including,but not limited to, distributed processing or component/objectdistributed processing, parallel processing, or virtual machineprocessing can also be constructed to implement the methods describedherein.

Examples of the processors as described herein may include, but are notlimited to, at least one of Qualcomm® Snapdragon® 800 and 801, Qualcomm®Snapdragon® 610 and 615 with 4G LTE Integration and 64-bit computing,Apple® A7 processor with 64-bit architecture, Apple® M7 motioncoprocessors, Samsung® Exynos® series, the Intel® Core™ family ofprocessors, the Intel® Xeon® family of processors, the Intel® Atom™family of processors, the Intel Itanium® family of processors, Intel®Core® i5-4670K and i7-4770K 22 nm Haswell, Intel® Core® i5-3570K 22 nmIvy Bridge, the AMD® FX™ family of processors, AMD® FX-4300, FX-6300,and FX-8350 32 nm Vishera, AMD® Kaveri processors, Texas Instruments®Jacinto C6000™ automotive infotainment processors, Texas Instruments®OMAP™ automotive-grade mobile processors, ARM® Cortex™-M processors,ARM® Cortex-A and ARM926EJS™ processors, other industry-equivalentprocessors, and may perform computational functions using any known orfuture-developed standard, instruction set, libraries, and/orarchitecture.

In yet another embodiment, the disclosed methods may be readilyimplemented in conjunction with software using object or object-orientedsoftware development environments that provide portable source code thatcan be used on a variety of computer or workstation platforms.Alternatively, the disclosed system may be implemented partially orfully in hardware using standard logic circuits or VLSI design. Whethersoftware or hardware is used to implement the systems in accordance withthis disclosure is dependent on the speed and/or efficiency requirementsof the system, the particular function, and the particular software orhardware systems or microprocessor or microcomputer systems beingutilized.

In yet another embodiment, the disclosed methods may be partiallyimplemented in software that can be stored on a storage medium, executedon programmed general-purpose computer with the cooperation of acontroller and memory, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, orthe like. In these instances, the systems and methods of this disclosurecan be implemented as program embedded on personal computer such as anapplet, JAVA® or CGI script, as a resource residing on a server orcomputer workstation, as a routine embedded in a dedicated measurementsystem, system component, or the like. The system can also beimplemented by physically incorporating the system and/or method into asoftware and/or hardware system.

Although the present disclosure describes components and functionsimplemented in the aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations withreference to particular standards and protocols, the aspects,embodiments, and/or configurations are not limited to such standards andprotocols. Other similar standards and protocols not mentioned hereinare in existence and are considered to be included in the presentdisclosure. Moreover, the standards and protocols mentioned herein andother similar standards and protocols not mentioned herein areperiodically superseded by faster or more effective equivalents havingessentially the same functions. Such replacement standards and protocolshaving the same functions are considered equivalents included in thepresent disclosure.

Various additional details of embodiments of the present disclosure willbe described below with reference to the figures. While the flowchartswill be discussed and illustrated in relation to a particular sequenceof events, it should be appreciated that changes, additions, andomissions to this sequence can occur without materially affecting theoperation of the disclosed embodiments, configuration, and aspects.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating elements of an exemplarycomputing environment in which embodiments of the present disclosure maybe implemented. More specifically, this example illustrates a computingenvironment 100 that may function as the servers, user computers, orother systems provided and described herein. The environment 100includes one or more user computers, or computing devices, such as acomputing device 104, a communication device 108, and/or more 112. Thecomputing devices 104, 108, 112 may include general purpose personalcomputers (including, merely by way of example, personal computers,and/or laptop computers running various versions of Microsoft Corp.'sWindows® and/or Apple Corp.'s Macintosh® operating systems) and/orworkstation computers running any of a variety of commercially-availableUNIX® or UNIX-like operating systems. These computing devices 104, 108,112 may also have any of a variety of applications, including forexample, database client and/or server applications, and web browserapplications. Alternatively, the computing devices 104, 108, 112 may beany other electronic device, such as a thin-client computer,Internet-enabled mobile telephone, and/or personal digital assistant,capable of communicating via a network 110 and/or displaying andnavigating web pages or other types of electronic documents. Althoughthe exemplary computer environment 100 is shown with two computingdevices, any number of user computers or computing devices may besupported.

Environment 100 further includes a network 110. The network 110 may canbe any type of network familiar to those skilled in the art that cansupport data communications using any of a variety ofcommercially-available protocols, including without limitation SIP,TCP/IP, SNA, IPX, AppleTalk, and the like. Merely by way of example, thenetwork 110 may be a local area network (“LAN”), such as an Ethernetnetwork, a Token-Ring network and/or the like; a wide-area network; avirtual network, including without limitation a virtual private network(“VPN”); the Internet; an intranet; an extranet; a public switchedtelephone network (“PSTN”); an infra-red network; a wireless network(e.g., a network operating under any of the IEEE 802.9 suite ofprotocols, the Bluetooth® protocol known in the art, and/or any otherwireless protocol); and/or any combination of these and/or othernetworks.

The system may also include one or more servers 114, 116. In thisexample, server 114 is shown as a web server and server 116 is shown asan application server. The web server 114, which may be used to processrequests for web pages or other electronic documents from computingdevices 104, 108, 112. The web server 114 can be running an operatingsystem including any of those discussed above, as well as anycommercially-available server operating systems. The web server 114 canalso run a variety of server applications, including SIP (SessionInitiation Protocol) servers, HTTP(s) servers, FTP servers, CGI servers,database servers, Java servers, and the like. In some instances, the webserver 114 may publish operations available operations as one or moreweb services.

The environment 100 may also include one or more file and or/applicationservers 116, which can, in addition to an operating system, include oneor more applications accessible by a client running on one or more ofthe computing devices 104, 108, 112. The server(s) 116 and/or 114 may beone or more general purpose computers capable of executing programs orscripts in response to the computing devices 104, 108, 112. As oneexample, the server 116, 114 may execute one or more web applications.The web application may be implemented as one or more scripts orprograms written in any programming language, such as Java™, C, C #®, orC++, and/or any scripting language, such as Perl, Python, or TCL, aswell as combinations of any programming/scripting languages. Theapplication server(s) 116 may also include database servers, includingwithout limitation those commercially available from Oracle®,Microsoft®, Sybase®, IBM® and the like, which can process requests fromdatabase clients running on a computing device 104, 108, 112.

The web pages created by the server 114 and/or 116 may be forwarded to acomputing device 104, 108, 112 via a web (file) server 114, 116.Similarly, the web server 114 may be able to receive web page requests,web services invocations, and/or input data from a computing device 104,108, 112 (e.g., a user computer, etc.) and can forward the web pagerequests and/or input data to the web (application) server 116. Infurther embodiments, the server 116 may function as a file server.Although for ease of description, FIG. 1 illustrates a separate webserver 114 and file/application server 116, those skilled in the artwill recognize that the functions described with respect to servers 114,116 may be performed by a single server and/or a plurality ofspecialized servers, depending on implementation-specific needs andparameters. The computer systems 104, 108, 112, web (file) server 114and/or web (application) server 116 may function as the system, devices,or components described herein.

The environment 100 may also include a database 118. The database 118may reside in a variety of locations. By way of example, database 118may reside on a storage medium local to (and/or resident in) one or moreof the computers 104, 108, 112, 114, 116. Alternatively, it may beremote from any or all of the computers 104, 108, 112, 114, 116, and incommunication (e.g., via the network 110) with one or more of these. Thedatabase 118 may reside in a storage-area network (“SAN”) familiar tothose skilled in the art. Similarly, any necessary files for performingthe functions attributed to the computers 104, 108, 112, 114, 116 may bestored locally on the respective computer and/or remotely, asappropriate. The database 118 may be a relational database, such asOracle 20i®, that is adapted to store, update, and retrieve data inresponse to SQL-formatted commands.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating elements of an exemplarycomputing device in which embodiments of the present disclosure may beimplemented. More specifically, this example illustrates one embodimentof a computer system 200 upon which the servers, user computers,computing devices, or other systems or components described above may bedeployed or executed. The computer system 200 is shown comprisinghardware elements that may be electrically coupled via a bus 204. Thehardware elements may include one or more central processing units(CPUs) 208; one or more input devices 212 (e.g., a mouse, a keyboard,etc.); and one or more output devices 216 (e.g., a display device, aprinter, etc.). The computer system 200 may also include one or morestorage devices 220. By way of example, storage device(s) 220 may bedisk drives, optical storage devices, solid-state storage devices suchas a random-access memory (“RAM”) and/or a read-only memory (“ROM”),which can be programmable, flash-updateable and/or the like.

The computer system 200 may additionally include a computer-readablestorage media reader 224; a communications system 228 (e.g., a modem, anetwork card (wireless or wired), an infra-red communication device,etc.); and working memory 236, which may include RAM and ROM devices asdescribed above. The computer system 200 may also include a processingacceleration unit 232, which can include a DSP, a special-purposeprocessor, and/or the like.

The computer-readable storage media reader 224 can further be connectedto a computer-readable storage medium, together (and, optionally, incombination with storage device(s) 220) comprehensively representingremote, local, fixed, and/or removable storage devices plus storagemedia for temporarily and/or more permanently containingcomputer-readable information. The communications system 228 may permitdata to be exchanged with a network and/or any other computer describedabove with respect to the computer environments described herein.Moreover, as disclosed herein, the term “storage medium” may representone or more devices for storing data, including read only memory (ROM),random access memory (RAM), magnetic RAM, core memory, magnetic diskstorage mediums, optical storage mediums, flash memory devices and/orother machine-readable mediums for storing information.

The computer system 200 may also comprise software elements, shown asbeing currently located within a working memory 236, including anoperating system 240 and/or other code 244. It should be appreciatedthat alternate embodiments of a computer system 200 may have numerousvariations from that described above. For example, customized hardwaremight also be used and/or particular elements might be implemented inhardware, software (including portable software, such as applets), orboth. Further, connection to other computing devices such as networkinput/output devices may be employed.

Examples of the processors 208 as described herein may include, but arenot limited to, at least one of Qualcomm® Snapdragon® 800 and 801,Qualcomm® Snapdragon® 620 and 615 with 4G LTE Integration and 64-bitcomputing, Apple® A7 processor with 64-bit architecture, Apple® M7motion coprocessors, Samsung® Exynos® series, the Intel® Core™ family ofprocessors, the Intel® Xeon® family of processors, the Intel® Atom™family of processors, the Intel Itanium® family of processors, Intel®Core® i5-4670K and i7-4770K 22 nm Haswell, Intel® Core® i5-3570K 22 nmIvy Bridge, the AMD® FX™ family of processors, AMD® FX-4300, FX-6300,and FX-8350 32 nm Vishera, AMD® Kaveri processors, Texas Instruments®Jacinto C6000™ automotive infotainment processors, Texas Instruments®OMAP™ automotive-grade mobile processors, ARM® Cortex™-M processors,ARM® Cortex-A and ARM926EJS™ processors, other industry-equivalentprocessors, and may perform computational functions using any known orfuture-developed standard, instruction set, libraries, and/orarchitecture.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary environment in whicha records management and processing system can be implemented accordingto one embodiment of the present disclosure. As illustrated in thisexample, the environment 300 can include a number of different systems.Specifically, the environment 300 can include a records management andprocessing system 305 which can comprise a server or other computingdevice as described above. The records management and processing system305 can be communicatively coupled with a communication network 310 suchas the Internet or any other one or more wired or wireless, local orwide area networks. The environment 300 can also include a number ofservice provider systems 315A-315C each of which can comprise a serveror other computing device as described above and which can also becommunicatively coupled with the communication network 310. Furthermore,the environment 300 can include a number of responsible entity systems320A-320C each of which can comprise a server or other computing deviceas described above and which can also be communicatively coupled withthe communication network 310. It should be noted that while threeservice provider systems 315A-315C and three responsible entity systems320A-320C are shown here for illustrative purposes, any number of suchsystems 315A-315C and 320A-320C can be present in various differentimplementations without departing from the scope of the presentdisclosure.

According to one implementation, the service provider systems 315A-315Ccan represent those servers or other computer systems typicallyassociated with an entity providing a service consumer. In oneembodiment, the providers of the services can comprise healthcareproviders such as hospital, doctors, physical therapists, counsellors,out-patient and/or urgent care facilities, pharmacies, or other suchproviders while the consumer can comprise a patient. In suchembodiments, the responsible party systems 320A-320C can comprise, forexample, those servers or other computer systems typically associatedwith an entity responsible for some duties related to the delivery ofand/or payment for those services. For example, responsible parties caninclude third-party payors including but not limited to insurancecompanies, Medicare, Medicaid, and/or other private, governmental, ormixed public/private entities. While described here with reference tohealthcare providers and third-party payors such as insurance companies,it should be understood that various embodiments of the presentdisclosure are not limited to such implementations. Rather, embodimentsof the present invention are believed to be equally adaptable to anduseful in environments and systems which process a large volume ofelectronic records according to complex rules and regulations, businessor financial arrangements, etc.

Regardless of the exact implementation of nature of the entitiesinvolved, the records management and processing system 305 can comprisean intermediary between a plurality of service providers systems315A-315C and the plurality of responsible entity systems 320A-320C. Assuch, the records management and processing system 305 can maintain aset of records related to services provided to a consumer by each or theservice providers and for which at least one of the responsible entitiesis responsible in some way, e.g., granting approval, making a payment,providing some additional information, etc. In the normal course ofprocessing such records and such transactions, the records managementand processing system 305 may experience a delay in the handling of somerecords. For example, delays can be caused by data anomalies in recordsprovided to the records management and processing system 305 by theservice provider systems 315A-315C. In other cases, delays can be causedby a problem or potential problem with the handling of records or theperformance of required actions by the responsible entity systems320A-320C. In the example of the healthcare implementation describedabove, the records can represent, at least in part, payments to be madeby the responsible entities to the service providers and thus, canrepresent accounts receivable for the service providers. As such, thetimely completion of handling such records can directly impacts thecashflow of the service providers. Additionally, the longer processingof such records is delayed, the more likely the payments will becomecontested or otherwise become problematic. In other implementations, thetimely processing of records by the records management and processingsystem 305 can be equally important for a variety of other reasons.

Accordingly, embodiments of the present disclosure are directed tomethods and systems for the timely processing of records by the recordsmanagement and processing system 305 exchanged between the serviceprovider systems 315A-315C and the responsible entity systems 320A-320C.More specifically, the records management and processing system 305 canmaintain a set of rules defining conditions for processing records andassociated actions to affect that processing upon satisfaction of orfailure to satisfy the conditions of that rule. The records managementand processing system 305 can also maintain tags identifying data in arecord, current status of processing of a record, or other informationabout the record. The records management and processing system 305 canapply the rules to the records and assign tags to the records based onthe conditions defined in the applied rules. The records management andprocessing system 305 can then process the records according toworkflows for processing the records based on the assigned tags andapplied rules.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating additional details of anexemplary records management and processing system in which embodimentsof the present disclosure can be implemented. As illustrated in thisexample, the records management and processing system 305 as describedabove can comprise a set of records maintained in a database 405 orother repository. As noted above, each record of the set of records inthe database can comprise a record of a service provided to a consumerby a service provider and can identify at least one required action byat least one responsible entity of a plurality of responsible entities.Also, as described above, the records management and processing system305 can comprise an intermediary between systems of the plurality ofservice providers and systems of the plurality of responsible entities.

The records management and processing system 305 can also maintain oneor more rules 410 for managing and processing the records of thedatabase 405. Generally speaking, a rule can comprise a definition ofone or more conditions and an associated one or more actions to beperformed upon satisfaction, or failure to satisfy, the conditions ofthat rule. Accordingly, each rule 410 maintained by the recordsmanagement and processing system 305 can comprise one or more conditionsfor processing one or more records of the set of records 405 and atleast one associated action to affect processing of the one or morerecords upon satisfaction of or failure to satisfy the one or moreconditions of the rule 410. The conditions defined in some of theserules 410 can comprise conditions to be satisfied by one or more of theresponsible entities 320A-320C described above. For example, one or morerules can define timing or other conditions a payment by a third-partypayor, e.g., Medicare, Medicaid, an insurance company, etc., for aservice rendered by the service provider, e.g., a hospital, doctor,pharmacy, etc., to the consumer/patient. Additionally, or alternatively,conditions defined in some of the rules 410 can define parameters fordata in the record. For example, rules 410 can be defined for performingchecks on the values of various fields of data in the records 405 suchas comparing different fields, e.g., a value of total charges relativeto a value of total adjustments, etc.

To facilitate definition of the rules 410, the records management andprocessing system 305 can further comprise a rules definition module415. Generally speaking, the rules definition module 415 can compriseone or more applications executed by the records management andprocessing system 305 and which provide a rules definition interface420. The rules definition interface 420 can include, for example, one ormore webpages or other, similar interfaces providing elements throughwhich an authorized user, such as an administrator or manager, canselect or otherwise input conditions and corresponding actions for a newor modified rule. Once defined in this manner, the new or modified rulecan be saved in the set of rules 410 and made available for applicationby the records management and processing system 305.

The records management and processing system 305 can also maintain a setof tags 425 for managing and processing the records 405. Generallyspeaking, these tags 425 can comprise a flag, metadata, or otherinformation used to describe, explain, mark, or otherwise identifyrecords in the set of records 405. For example, the tags 425 caninclude, but are not limited to, tags used to identify data in a record405, a current status of processing of the record 405, or otherinformation about the record. As will be described, these tags 425 canbe used to identify records 405 that merit additional attention and/orprocessing and thus, the absence of tags associated with a record canimplicitly indicate that additional attention or handling is not neededfor that record.

To facilitate definition and use of the tags 425, the records managementand processing system 305 can further comprise a tag definition andassignment module 430. Generally speaking, the tag definition andassignment module 430 can comprise one or more applications executed bythe records management and processing system 305 and which provide a tagdefinition and assignment interface 435. The tag definition andassignment interface 435 can include, for example, one or more webpagesor other, similar interfaces providing elements through which anauthorized user, such as an administrator or manager, can select orotherwise input definitions of new or modified tags. Once defined inthis manner, the new or modified tag can be saved in the set of tags 430and made available for application by the records management andprocessing system 305.

The records management and processing system 305 can also comprise arules engine 440. Generally speaking, the rules engine can comprise oneor more applications executed by the records management and processingsystem 305 and which can read and apply the rules 410 to the records405. That is, the rules engine 440 can compare the records stored in thedatabase 405 to the conditions for the rules 410 and, upon findingrecords that satisfy, or fail to satisfy as the case may be anddepending upon how the condition is defined, can perform or cause to beperformed the action associated with the satisfied or failed condition.These actions can include, for example, applying one or more of the tags425 to the identified records 405 or presenting the identified recordsto a user and receiving an indication of the tag(s) to be applied. Thetag(s) 425 applied to a record can identify or mark that record forfurther attention to advance the processing of that record. Thus,records that are not tagged do not require additional attention orprocessing outside of normal processes since they are in a condition asdefined in the rules as being normal or acceptable, e.g., within defineddeadlines or other time limits etc. In other words, processing can beapplied to one set of records based on the tags applied while processingof another set of records can be postponed or delayed so that the firstset of records can be given more attention and resources.

The rules engine 440 can apply the rules 410 to the records 405periodically, on demand, or upon the occurrence of predefined event orthe satisfaction of one or more predefined conditions. For example, therules engine 440 can apply the rules 410 as part of a routine processperformed each day, week, month, or other period, and/or may beinitiated or kicked off upon request by an authorized user of the systemsuch as a manager or supervisor. As noted above, applying the rules 410can include tagging one or more records based on the applied rules 410.Additionally, or alternatively, tags can be applied to one or morerecords based on a user selection or input. For example, a user viewinga set of records can select records from that set and apply one or moretags to those selected records based on conditions the user perceivesand which may or may not be defined in the rules. Thus, tagging ofrecords can be driven by the applied rules or based on input from a userand the tags applied in either way can influence the further handling ofthose tagged records.

According to one embodiment and as illustrated here, the recordsmanagement and processing system 305 can also comprise a workflow engine445 and a set of predefined workflows 450. Generally speaking, aworkflow 450 can comprise a set of one or more steps to be performed onor related to a record. These steps can be wholly machine executable ormay, in some cases, rely on some degree of human intervention. Forexample, these steps can range from presenting data from a tagged recordin a user interface to a human operator, such as a collector, for anaction to be performed by the operator, e.g., calling a payor orperforming some other follow-up action, to a completely automatedprocess such as sending an automatically generated communication to apayor system or combinations of various such human and machine actions.The workflow engine 445 can comprise one or more applications executedby the records management and processing system 305 and which, duringexecution, can read the predefined workflows 450 and implement orperform the steps defined therein. The workflows 450 can comprise a setof predefined, executable steps directed to advancing the processing ofthe records 405 identified by the rules 405 and tagged as describedabove. The workflow engine 445 can execute the workflows 450 byselecting a workflow 450 based on the tags 425 for a record 405 andexecuting the selected workflow 450 using the information from thatrecord and, in some cases, based on further application of one or morerules 410 related to the tags 425 applied to that record 405. Thus, theconditions and associated actions defined in the rules 410 can also beapplied by the workflow engine 445 as it executes the workflows 450. Theworkflow engine 445 can also provide a workflow user interface 450 forviewing and managing one or more workflows for processing records.

Therefore, the rules engine 440 can apply one or more of the rules 410to the records saved in the database 405 to identify those records whichshould be further processed or given further scrutiny and mark thoserecords with one or more tags 425. In this way, those records found tobe within normal or acceptable conditions according to the applied rulesneed not be subjected to further scrutiny and/or processing thus savingresources such as human effort, processing overhead, etc. In otherwords, processing of one set of records can be performed in an expeditedor priority manner while processing of another set of records can bede-prioritized or postponed based on the tags applied to the recordswhich is in turn based on the rules or input from a user.

One or more predefined workflow processes 450 can then be selected,e.g., based on the applied tags, initiated, and executed by the workflowengine 445 to further process those tagged records. The workflows 450can be initiated automatically, e.g., triggered by the rules engine 445upon completion of applying the tags 425, upon the occurrence of certainconditions, e.g., as defined in one or more rules 410, at apredetermined or pre-scheduled time, upon request, or in a variety ofother ways without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.Processing the tagged records 405 by the workflow engine 445 cancomprise performing the steps defined in the workflows 450, which caninclude applying the selected or additional rules 410 to the recordsbeing processed, in order to advance the handling of those records 405by the records management and processing system 305, e.g., move anaccount towards payment or other resolution.

According to one embodiment, the system 305 can further comprise a fileimport module 460 that receives files from various sources. For example,the file import module 460 can receive service provider files from oneor more service provider systems 315A-315C. Additionally, oralternatively, the file import module 460 can receive responsible entityfiles 470 from one or more responsible entity systems 320A-320C. In manycases, these files may be Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) files ofvarious types. For example, in the healthcare instance as describedabove, the service provider files 465 may comprise EDI 837 files and theresponsible entity files 470 can comprise EDI 835 files. Such files maynot be directly usable in the records management and processing system305.

Accordingly, the system 305 can also include a parser 475. Generallyspeaking, the parser 475 can receive the files 465 and 470, parse theminto usable form, and store them, e.g., in the service records 405, passthem to other elements of the system 305 such as the workflow engine445, etc. While parsing can be done line-by-line to identify and extractthe various pieces of data within the file, such methods can becomputationally expensive and slow. This is especially true with large,complexly structured files such as EDI 835 and EDI 837 files which,because of the frequently nested nature of the data within the files,may require several iterations or loops through the individual lines ofthe file which further adds to the computational overhead and timerequired to process the files.

According to one embodiment, the computational expense and time requiredfor this parsing process can be significantly reduced by using avectorization process to parse the files 465 and 470. In suchembodiments, the parser 475 can import the service provider files 465and/or responsible entity files 470 into a table. Each data segment ofthe imported file can be imported into a different row of the table andthe rows and columns of the table can comprise an array of fields.Vectorization processing can then be performed on the array of fields inthe initial data frame table. A set of one or more target tables canthen be populated with data from the imported file based on performingthe vectorization processing on the array of fields in the initial dataframe table. According to one embodiment, performing the vectorizationprocessing on the array of fields in the table and populating the set ofone or more target tables with data from the imported file can compriseprocessing the entire file and can be performed in a single iterationthereby significantly reducing the computational overhead and timerequired. Additional details of such a parsing process will be describedbelow.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating elements of an exemplary parseraccording to one embodiment of the present disclosure. Morespecifically, this example illustrates the various functions performedby the parser 475 to import an input file 505, perform vectorization onthat file, and save the data from that input 505 to a set of outputtables 555 based on the results of the vectorization. As illustrated inthis example, the parser 475 can perform an import function 510 toimport an input file 505 into an initial data frame table 515. Each datasegment of the input file 505 can be imported into a different row ofthe initial data frame table 515 and the rows and columns of the initialdata frame table 515 can comprise an array of fields.

Vectorization processing can then be performed on the array of fields inthe initial data frame table 515. More specifically, performing thevectorization processing on the array of fields in the initial dataframe table can comprise performing a join function 520 on the initialdata frame table 515 with a file type specific data frame table 525 toproduce a joined data frame table 530. The file type specific data frametable 525 can be selected from a plurality of file type specific dataframe tables based on a file type for the input file 505. The joineddata frame table 530 can then be filtered by a filtering function 535.According to one embodiment, filtering the joined data frame tablecomprises removing redundant fields from the joined data frame table ina single iteration on the joined data frame table 530. Performing thevectorization processing on the array of fields in the initial dataframe table can further comprise a split function 540 splitting each rowof the filtered data frame table 530 into a split data frame table 545,wherein each row of the split data frame table comprises a single fieldof data from the input file 505. This split function 540 can beperformed based on a set of output table mappings 545 which map the dataof the filtered joined data frame table 530 to the set of output tables560.

The set of one or more target output tables 560 can then be populatedwith data by a table write function 555 based on results of performingthe vectorization processing on the array of fields in the initial dataframe table 515. More specifically, populating the set of one or moretarget output tables 560 with data can comprise filtering the split dataframe table 550 and storing data from the split data frame table 555 inthe one or more target tables 560 based on the filtering. According toone embodiment, performing the vectorization processing on the inputfile 505 and populating the set of one or more target output tables 560with data from the input file 505 can comprise processing the entireinput file 505 and can be performed in a single iteration.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for processingof complexly structured files according to one embodiment of the presentdisclosure. As illustrated in this example, processing of complexlystructured documents such as EDI files, for example, can compriseimporting 605 a file into an initial data frame table. Each data segmentof the imported file can be imported into a different row of the initialdata frame table and the rows and columns of the initial data frametable can comprise an array of fields.

Vectorization processing can then be performed on the array of fields inthe initial data frame table. More specifically, performing thevectorization processing on the array of fields in the initial dataframe table can comprise performing 610 a join operation on the initialdata frame table with a file type specific data frame table to produce ajoined data frame table. The file type specific data frame table ca beselected from a plurality of file type specific data frame tables basedon a file type for the imported EDI file. The joined data frame tablecan then be filtered 615. According to one embodiment, filtering 615 thejoined data frame table comprises removing redundant fields from thejoined data frame table in a single iteration on the joined data frametable. Performing the vectorization processing on the array of fields inthe initial data frame table can further comprise splitting 620 each rowof the filtered data frame table into a split data frame table, whereineach row of the split data frame table comprises a single field of datafrom the imported EDI file.

A set of one or more target tables can then be populated with data fromthe imported EDI file based on performing the vectorization processingon the array of fields in the initial data frame table. Morespecifically, populating the set of one or more target tables with datafrom the imported EDI can comprise filtering 625 the split data frametable and storing 630 data from the split data frame table in the one ormore target tables based on the filtering. According to one embodiment,performing the vectorization processing on the array of fields in theinitial data frame table and populating the set of one or more targettables with data from the imported EDI file can comprise processing theentire EDI file and can be performed in a single iteration.

The present disclosure, in various aspects, embodiments, and/orconfigurations, includes components, methods, processes, systems, and/orapparatus substantially as depicted and described herein, includingvarious aspects, embodiments, configurations embodiments,sub-combinations, and/or subsets thereof. Those of skill in the art willunderstand how to make and use the disclosed aspects, embodiments,and/or configurations after understanding the present disclosure. Thepresent disclosure, in various aspects, embodiments, and/orconfigurations, includes providing devices and processes in the absenceof items not depicted and/or described herein or in various aspects,embodiments, and/or configurations hereof, including in the absence ofsuch items as may have been used in previous devices or processes, e.g.,for improving performance, achieving ease and\or reducing cost ofimplementation.

The foregoing discussion has been presented for purposes of illustrationand description. The foregoing is not intended to limit the disclosureto the form or forms disclosed herein. In the foregoing DetailedDescription for example, various features of the disclosure are groupedtogether in one or more aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations forthe purpose of streamlining the disclosure. The features of the aspects,embodiments, and/or configurations of the disclosure may be combined inalternate aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations other than thosediscussed above. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted asreflecting an intention that the claims require more features than areexpressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claimsreflect, inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a singleforegoing disclosed aspect, embodiment, and/or configuration. Thus, thefollowing claims are hereby incorporated into this Detailed Description,with each claim standing on its own as a separate preferred embodimentof the disclosure.

Moreover, though the description has included description of one or moreaspects, embodiments, and/or configurations and certain variations andmodifications, other variations, combinations, and modifications arewithin the scope of the disclosure, e.g., as may be within the skill andknowledge of those in the art, after understanding the presentdisclosure. It is intended to obtain rights which include alternativeaspects, embodiments, and/or configurations to the extent permitted,including alternate, interchangeable and/or equivalent structures,functions, ranges or steps to those claimed, whether or not suchalternate, interchangeable and/or equivalent structures, functions,ranges or steps are disclosed herein, and without intending to publiclydedicate any patentable subject matter.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for processing Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) files, the method comprising: importing, by a parser of a records management and processing system, an EDI file into an initial data table, wherein each data segment of the imported EDI file is imported into a different row of the initial data table and wherein the rows and columns of the initial data table comprise an array of fields; performing, by the parser of the records management and processing system, vectorization processing on the array of fields in the initial data table, wherein performing the vectorization processing on the array of fields in the initial data table comprises performing a join operation on the initial data table with a file type specific data table to produce a joined data table, the file type specific data table selected from a plurality of file type specific data tables based on a file type for the imported EDI file; and populating, by the parser of the records management and processing system, a set of one or more target tables with data from the imported EDI file based on performing the vectorization processing on the array of fields in the initial data table.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein performing the vectorization processing on the array of fields in the initial data table and populating the set of one or more target tables with data from the imported EDI file comprise processing the entire EDI file and are performed in a single iteration.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein performing the vectorization processing on the array of fields in the initial data table further comprises filtering the joined data table.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein filtering the joined data table comprises removing redundant fields from the joined data table in a single iteration on the joined data table.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein performing the vectorization processing on the array of fields in the initial data table further comprises splitting each row of the filtered data table into a split data table, wherein each row of the split data table comprises a single field of data from the imported EDI file.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein populating the set of one or more target tables with data from the imported EDI comprises filtering the split data table and storing data from the split data table in the one or more target tables based on the filtering.
 7. A system comprising: a processor; and a memory coupled with and readable by the processor and storing therein a set of instructions which, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to process Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) files by: importing an EDI file into an initial data table, wherein each data segment of the imported EDI file is imported into a different row of the initial data table and wherein the rows and columns of the initial data table comprise an array of fields; performing vectorization processing on the array of fields in the initial data table, wherein performing the vectorization processing on the array of fields in the initial data table comprises performing a join operation on the initial data table with a file type specific data table to produce a joined data frame table, the file type specific data table selected from a plurality of file type specific data tables based on a file type for the imported EDI file; and populating a set of one or more target tables with data from the imported EDI file based on performing the vectorization processing on the array of fields in the initial data table.
 8. The system of claim 7, wherein performing the vectorization processing on the array of fields in the initial data table and populating the set of one or more target tables with data from the imported EDI file comprise processing the entire EDI file and are performed in a single iteration.
 9. The system of claim 7, wherein performing the vectorization processing on the array of fields in the initial data table further comprises filtering the joined data table.
 10. The system of claim 9, wherein filtering the joined data table comprises removing redundant fields from the joined data table in a single iteration on the joined data table.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein performing the vectorization processing on the array of fields in the initial data table further comprises splitting each row of the filtered data table into a split data table, wherein each row of the split data table comprises a single field of data from the imported EDI file.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein populating the set of one or more target tables with data from the imported EDI comprises filtering the split data table and storing data from the split data table in the one or more target tables based on the filtering.
 13. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium comprising a set of instructions stored therein which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to process Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) files by: importing an EDI file into an initial data table, wherein each data segment of the imported EDI file is imported into a different row of the initial data table and wherein the rows and columns of the initial data table comprise an array of fields; performing vectorization processing on the array of fields in the initial data table, wherein performing the vectorization processing on the array of fields in the initial data table comprises performing a join operation on the initial data table with a file type specific data table to produce a joined data table, the file type specific data table selected from a plurality of file type specific data tables based on a file type for the imported EDI file; and populating a set of one or more target tables with data from the imported EDI file based on performing the vectorization processing on the array of fields in the initial data table.
 14. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein performing the vectorization processing on the array of fields in the initial data table further comprises filtering the joined data table.
 15. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein filtering the joined data table comprises removing redundant fields from the joined data table in a single iteration on the joined data table.
 16. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein performing the vectorization processing on the array of fields in the initial data table further comprises splitting each row of the filtered data table into a split data table, wherein each row of the split data table comprises a single field of data from the imported EDI file.
 17. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein populating the set of one or more target tables with data from the imported EDI comprises filtering the split data table and storing data from the split data table in the one or more target tables based on the filtering. 